


Questioning Connections

by Lazchan



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: Gen, spoilers for chapters 100+
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-02
Updated: 2015-07-02
Packaged: 2018-04-07 08:59:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4257354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lazchan/pseuds/Lazchan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I wanted to play around with the idea of Yona having the concept of 'borrowing' the dragons power, since she didn't know for certain who she was until just recently in the manga.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Questioning Connections

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [Cuestionando conexiones](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11647539) by [narutinachan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/narutinachan/pseuds/narutinachan)



Yona sneaked a look at the slumbering group around her, before getting up as stealthily as possible. She was used to doing this, but it got increasingly more difficult when she had so many protectors around her. Still, she wanted to get away and practice and her mind was too full to sleep properly. She tucked her bow and quiver close to her side and edged around the group, feeling a tug inside, but she resolutely pushed it away. 

Once she was free of the tent, she hurried to a spot to practice—not too far away, or else everyone would worry, but far enough so that she didn't wake them up. She had to get stronger; she had to be able to protect herself. 

Because… because…

Her breath hitched slightly and she pushed away an unexpected tear. She loved them all so much and it was hard to remember, sometimes, that they weren't actually hers. That she was 'borrowing' their power. They were waiting for Hiryuu, ultimately, but when they traveled with her, they were able to make the country better for him.

"I'm really lucky," she whispered to herself, trying to sound determined about it. "To have them for so long. It's not like we won't be friends after…" she tried to sight the arrow on her target, but her hands were shaking.

Her biggest fear was that Su-won was Hiryuu reincarnated, Hiryuu come back to them to lead the country. She had noticed how Zeno had been startled when she saw him; when Jae-ha was protecting him—she felt sick inside and she sunk to her knees, clutching her bow with white-knuckled hands. 

Would she lose everything to him? Her father, her kingdom—her friendship and unrequited love; a love that was so painful now. Would she lose the ones that sat curled around her heart as well? She didn't want to think about having them leave her to go protect the current king of Kouka. 

"Su-won is so respected…" she whispered to herself. Su-won was meant to be a leader; he had been taught how to lead the kingdom and the generals and the tribes. He could fight and protect himself. She wasn't strong enough yet. 

As if in reminder, her back pulled slightly from the injury she had received when she had protected Lili. She had been able to protect the girl, but then the others had come in, fighting as well. She wanted to be strong, needed to be strong. She wanted to protect Shin-ah, Kija and Jae-ha. She wanted to protect Hak.

She wanted to protect Zeno, even if he had proven to them all that he couldn't be /hurt/, but she knew that he still got hurt, that his injuries still caused him pain. She wanted to stand in front of him and protect him from the pain. If she was stronger, none of them had to be hurt.

…and when they left her eventually, she would be strong enough to protect herself. 

"I don't want to lose them," she admitted out loud, away from their ears. She knew that had a mission that their dragon blood gave them and this was temporary, but, she didn't want to let them go, ever. She sometimes felt them inside her head, inside her dreams. 

/How could that even be possible?/

When they were taken away to serve someone else, she'd feel empty inside. 

She knew she would never lose Hak; but the idea of the loss of Kija, Jae-ha, Shin-ah and Zeno cut her to the core. She covered her face with her eyes and started to cry, kneeling in the mud and grass. 

"Who are you going to lose now?" Hak stepped out into her clearing, a sight that she wasn't even surprised about. Hak always found her when she walked away and she fretted that he didn't sleep. He shouldn't be so overwhelmed with worrying about her that he forgot about himself. He looked over her, sitting in the mud with the tears on her face.

"I… " she took a deep breath. "The… the others," she whispered. "Kija-kun and Jae-ha and Shin-ah and Z…Zeno," she closed her eyes and tried to rein in her emotions. "I… I forgot, for awhile, that they have their own goal," she whispered. "They want … they need to be with Hiryuu again." She sniffed a little, wiping away the tears with one hand. "I told them from the beginning that I… that I was just borrowing their power. I didn't want to take them away from who they really want."

Hak stared at her like she was speaking gibberish, saw she was serious and finally sighed and knelt down next to her. "You still don't see it?" he asked, shaking his head at how oblivious it was. Was it all affection aimed towards her? He felt somehow relieved that her blindness in that matter was not restricted just to him.

"Wha… see what?" she asked. "I'm not—I mean—they are…" she ran a hand through her hair, frustrated. 

He felt awkward about this, he didn't like to believe in the gods and such; but staying with the four idiots for so long helped him realize that there was more above and around than he previously thought of. "Yona, they're yours," he said carefully. "They're connected to you, even I can see that. There isn't anyone else for them." 

"But…" she protested. "They're all waiting for Hiryuu, that's what the original legend is." She grimaced as she thought of Zeno, who had followed Hiryuu originally. She didn't want to disappoint him, most of all. He deserved to have his king back. 

"You really are…" he sighed and rested a hand on top of her head. "The most impossible girl." He continued to rest his hand on her head, but he pulled her next to him with his free hand. "Haven't you even guessed?" He tugged on a strand of her hair, giving her a flat look. 

"Red hair doesn't make me Hiryuu!" she snapped, sitting up straight and glaring at him. "Hiryuu was a strong fighter and smart and … and he was a king and a dragon…" her voice strangled a bit again as she tried to get out the words. "Yo… you saw how useless I was the beginning. I didn't know anything at all." She rubbed at her eyes. "A silly princess."

"That's changed," he said firmly. "You're stronger now, Princess. You made that change in yourself. You said it yourself, how you were at the beginning." He looked off for a moment. "It's not your fault, you know. Your father never let you realize your full potential. I sometimes…" he trailed off and she looked up at him. 

"You sometimes what?" she was still tense and unhappy inside, but his expression made her relax a little more. 

"I sometimes wonder if he knew the girl you would come to be and tried to hide you from your true calling." 

Yona stared at him in shock, not expecting that from him. "I…" she was caught speechless for a moment, then Hak smirked at her. 

"You're still clueless, though," he pointed out. "To not see the obvious. You do realize that those idiots come running for you at the first hint that you're in danger? I don't even realize what's going on at first, before they're running off to save you."

She frowned a little at that. "Are you sure about that?" she tilted her head. "It can't just be me, they're really smart and they've learned a lot of stuff and they're strong—" she tugged on her hair, biting her lip. "Or because they've leant their power to me, it works that way." When Hak opened his mouth to say something, she stopped him with a hand on his shoulder, lip trembling. "If Jae-ha actually thought I was supposed to be Hiryuu, instead of him protecting a girl and seeing me as strong from Awa, he'd be so angry and run."

"How do you feel around them?" he asked instead, looking down at her. He wondered if she could be truthful about that, at the very least. He had some discussions with the others and a lot when Yona wasn't around. They were devoted to her completely. He shared the sentiment, but there was something else at play here, other than protecting the girl he loved and the princess he was sworn to watch after.

"I don't want to lose them!" she burst out. "They're… they're so much… they mean so much to me and…" she hunched over herself again. "Even the thought of them getting hurt makes me sick inside. I know they're strong and capable and…" 

"And we want to protect you, Princess," Kija's voice was quietly fierce as he came into the clearing. He winced at the mud and searched around to make sure there weren't any bugs before he edged over to Yona. "What's all this talk about?"

The rest slowly came into the clearing as well, expressions confused. Hak got up slowly and watched over all of them. He sensed that this moment had to be for them. There was something there that he couldn't pinpoint exactly and didn't make logical sense, but things didn't make a great deal of sense anymore, even as they did.

"I'll leave you to talk sense into the princess," he said, raising an eyebrow. "See if you can get her to understand the truth of the matter."

This was a moment for the dragons and Yona. 

~

"It would have been nice for him to have told us what was going on," Kija fretted. "Princess Yona looks quite upset." He hesitated in reaching out to her, but Jae-ha had already swooped in and wrapped his around her, holding her to his side. 

"You can tell us anything, Yona dear," he smiled down at her. "What is troubling you? Is it your injuries, still?"

Yona shook her head quickly, hoping that the tears that she had shed weren't obvious on her face. "I… I just—" she swallowed hard when they all looked at her. They felt so warm inside, like candles—like fire and warm soup and comforting touches. 

How was it possible that they weren't hers? She was selfish enough that she didn't want to ever give them up, no matter what. She couldn't be selfish, but…

She looked up at Jae-ha, swallowing hard and trying to pick up her courage. "I… if.. if Hiryuu came back," her voice was almost too faint to hear, "what would you do, Jae-ha?" She couldn't even look at him as she asked the question. She was afraid to see his face. "I know that you never wanted to follow someone and I'm so grateful that.. that… so happy—" she sniffed again and another tear fell down. "That you're with me, but…"

She caught surprise from all of them, a shock that reverberated across the group and she risked looking up from the ground to see the expressions that the others wore. Jae-ha's arm tightened around her, sighing and sharing a look with the others around them. The others, even Kija, moved closer, mud or no mud.

Kija was gaping at her in shock, as if he didn't quite understand what she was saying. "But…princess—you're… you're the one we follow. I don't understand." He stared, face flushing. "Are … did we do something wrong?" He looked more distressed than she felt and she hastened to reassure him, getting to her knees and out of Jae-ha's grip long enough to grab at Kija's hands, making him blush harder. 

"No! No, it’s not that at all!" She said quickly, looking up at him, eyes shining still with unshed tears. "Do you remember what I asked you when I first came?" she kept her hands around his, ignoring his flustered look. Now that she had started, she had to go through with it and finish. 

Kija nodded slowly, unsure of where this was going. 

"I asked to borrow your powers," she said softly releasing his hands and wrapping her arms around herself. "I called myself a crook that only wanted to use the powers of the dragons." 

He gave her a gentle smile, taking her hands back, his expression sliding into something almost peaceful. "Did I ever tell you what went through my mind when I first saw you?" he asked, looking around the others. All except Zeno nodded, who was giving her a contemplative look.

It was that look that twisted inside slightly. Zeno would know the best of all, wouldn't he?

"We heard a voice inside, Yona dear," Jae-ha moved her closer again, resting a hand on the top of her hand. "Calling to us, all four dragons to protect our master." He shuddered slightly at the memory. "Why do you think I was so very adamant about not going with you at the beginning? You startled me, dear."

Shin-ah nodded, looking somehow flustered even under the mask. Ao climbed down from his shoulder and into Yona's lap, talking happily at her, pressing small acorns into her hands. "It burned," he whispered. "But we all knew." 

Kija nodded firmly. "My entire village guessed you were the one that we were to serve," he said firmly. "And I had no doubt in my mind that you are our master." He sighed and reached out, hand touching the edges of her sleeve. "You know it's also not just the blood, Princess. You yourself have won my loyalty by being you."

Yona scrubbed at her eyes and nodded, looking at all of them in bewilderment. "You heard a voice?" She asked, startled as she looked at them. 

"Yes, Yona… one that echoed quite loudly and tried to boil our blood in our veins," Jae-ha winced. "Warriors of the Four Dragons…" 

Zeno's expression turned shocked and pained for a moment. His voice was quiet when he spoke up , expression turning solemn and eyes meeting the others with an expression that was breathtaking in its intensity. His voice was quiet when he spoke up. "Warriors of the Four Dragons. From now on, you are our other halves. With Hiryuu as your Master, protect, cherish and never betray him for as long as you live." 

He laughed a little, resting his hand on the back of his head. "That was nostalgic! Zeno hasn't heard that for so long, but he remembers it." He looked up at her with a true smile. "If the others heard that voice in their heads, Miss—then you are the one we've all been waiting for. Zeno knows, Miss."

"Zeno…." Her throat felt choked by tears. "You… you of all people—you've been waiting for so long—" 

"And you are who I've been waiting for," he joined the others in wrapping his arms around her in an enthusiastic hug. She was well surrounded by this point, even Shin-ah leaning against her. "You felt all of us, Miss. You knew who we all were, without us even saying."

"That's why I don't want to lose any of you," she whispered. "When I was hurt…" she leaned into them unconsciously, taking comfort from how near they all were to her. "I knew that I wanted to be stronger, for all of you, so that you wouldn't cry." She didn't even think of how she knew each dragon, how she felt who they were instinctively. Whether it was how calm Shin-ah had made her feel, or knowing Jae-ha straight off—she never questioned it. The only thing she was questioning was when Hiryuu returned…

Zeno sighed and knelt in front of her, gazing straight at her, the medallion on his bandana glittering faintly in the moonlight. "You need to trust Zeno, Miss. After all this time, I was waiting for Hiryuu to be reborn—" he pressed a hand to her mouth to forestall anymore protests. "And that's you."

Her eyes went incredibly wide at that, while the others around her nodded. "While I can't claim to have known Hiryuu," Jae-ha said lightly, "I could tell that, without a doubt, you are the one that my blood was telling me to protect, to gravitate towards." He shook his head. "There is a reason why I told you 'no' at our first meeting." 

"Is that why it was so hard to leave you?" she looked up at him, keeping Zeno close, as close as she could. She reached out and took his head, a soft smile on her face. "When I first met you … I didn't want to leave you." 

He flushed and tried to push it away. "I… that is probably it, Yona-dear, even if I would like to say it was my charming good lucks that kept you so interested in me." 

When she laughed at that, he and the others relaxed to see her mood shifting to something more cheerful. 

Shin-ah gripped her arm, voice almost too quiet to hear. "… never leave you," he whispered. To her, she was everything. She led him out of the dark, gave him a name and a family, a purpose. She wasn't afraid of him or the dragon inside. "Please don't leave us."

Yona looked astounded at that and shook her head quickly. "Never—never, I couldn't ever…" 

"Then don't think we could leave you so easily, Princess," Kija said firmly. "Who and what we are—all those years of waiting and keeping our stories;" he looked vaguely embarrassed. His village was the only one that had anything good to say about the heritage they possessed, "was ultimately to serve you in the end. It's not just a duty, Princess." He gave her a sweet smile. "It's something I'd do no matter what." 

She flushed and looked down at her hands for a moment, both which were held by two of her dragons. She still felt them flickering inside and if she closed her eyes, she could imagine the bonds to one another, stretching out, bright and warm, tangling around them, tighter and tighter. 

The idea that she was Hiryuu reincarnated was something that she would come to terms with later, but with all of them being so adamant, she knew that she wouldn't lose her dragons, either—her heart and soul. It hadn't been so long since she had found them, but she couldn’t imagine life without them now. 

She curled in closer to Jae-ha, tugging Zeno closer, who only laughed and hugged her, snuggling easily into her side, Shin-ah still clinging to her arm and Kija gripping her hands. It was like the happy pile that they had shared when Zeno had woken up after that battle and Yona promised to herself that they would do this more often. It wasn't only her happiness she felt at such closeness, but theirs as well and that made it all the better.


End file.
